THE TIMES OF INDIA, PUNESATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 20156 TIMES CITY

World renowned jazz bands such as Karim

Ellaboudi and The Joel Lyssarides – Trio will per-form in the city. Karim El-laboudi has played all over the world, including at the Glastonbury music festi-val. He has been putting together jazz and RnB en-sembles in various cities and has played a promi-nent role in bringing inde-pendent music to commu-nities. These performanc-es will be accompanied by the Indian jazz band Bheja Freud. Joel Lyssarides is the youngest, as well as the first jazz musician ever, to receive the prestig-ious Jan Wallander Award. He now performs with Jo-

sef Karnebäck and Hannes Sigfridsson. Their music can be described as

a fusion of classical, world, jazz, rock and pop music.Date: December 5Time: 6.30pmVenue: Liberty Square, Phoenix Marketcity, Ah-mednagar Road.

Amanora Town Centre brings a live perfor-

mance by FiddleCraft, one of the biggest indie pop bands in the country. The band members compose their own songs. This will be their 93rd gig.

Date: December 5Time: 7pm onwardsVenue: Oasis, Amanora Town Centre.

Balabhau Umdekar Kun-dalguru Smruti Samiti

has planned a musical pro-gramme with a Vichi-traveena solo by Radhika and vocal recital by Gitika Umdekar Masurkar of the Gwalior gharana. Noted tabla player Ramdas Palsule will also perform. The festival is in the mem-ory of Balabhau Umdekar, a singer from the princely state of Gwalior. He popu-larised several less known ragas from Hindustani music.Date: December 5Time: 5.30pm

Venue: Vishnu Vinayak Swaramandir, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.

Mahila Shakti Prat-ishthan will hold a

programme tracing the journey of actress Asha Parekh. The programme titled ‘Asha Parekh – Ek Safar’ will comprise popu-lar songs from her films. The singers include Suvar-na Mategaonkar, Prashant Naseri and Swarada Gokhale. Parekh will be present for this fundraiser.Date: December 5Time: 5pmVenue: Lokshahir Annab-hau Sathe auditorium, Padmavati.

The Pune Prarthana Sa-maj has organised its

annual cultural festival and award ceremony, which will include a pro-gramme based on ‘abhang’ written by Sant Dnyanesh-war. Singers include Chan-drakant Naik, Dhanashree Ghate and Sushama Jog. Dilip Jog will explain the meaning of each ‘abhang’.Date: December 6Time: 5pmVenue: Hari Mandir, Pune Prarthana Samaj, 441, Budhwar Peth, near Paso-dya Vithoba temple.

Swaranubandha is a pro-gramme of poems by

noted poet Sudhir Moghe Shrikant Pargaonkar and Kavita Jambhekar will present some of Moghe’s songs, while Shubhada Moghe will recite his po-

ems.Date: December 6Time: 6pmVenue: SM Joshi Hall, Navi Peth, Ganjwe Chowk.

Art lovers will be able to enjoy an exhibition of

paintings and potraits. The exhibition will display works by artist Ramkr-ishna Dattatraya Kamble.

Date: On till December 8Time: 10am to 8pmVenue: Darpan art gallery, Patrakarnagar lane, off Senapati Bapat Road.

The Dastkari Haat Crafts Festival brings

a vibrant collection of art, crafts and textiles from all over India, sold directly by their makers. On offer will be Madhubani art on steel trunks, wood and textiles, Gond art, bead jewellery, Kantha embroidery from West Bengal, block prints, embroidery and weaving from Rajasthan, Chanderi

and Maheshwari from Madhya Pradesh, Banarasi weaves and chikan em-broidery from Uttar Pradesh, ceramics and pot-tery from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, mehendi art on papier-mâché from UP and silver jewellery from Orissa. The Dastkari Haat Samiti will have its own stall selling exclusive artistic stationery, maps, and craft books.Date: On till December 6Time: 11am to 8pmVenue: The Monalisa Kal-agram, next to Blossom Boulevard building, end of South Main Road, Kore-gaon Park.

Floral Abstracts is a solo exhibition of photo-

graphs by Ajit Singh. A self-taught photographer, Singh started pursuing photography in 2007 as a

serious hobby. He is always on the lookout for some-thing unusual and beyond the realm of the routine visual onslaught, composi-tions and images that are not only different, but also evoke a mystical feeling.Date: On till December 12Time: 9am to 6pmVenue: Bliss art gallery, Koregaon Park, Lane-E, North Main Road.

A Weekly Calendar Of Events And Happenings

In The City

MUSIC

EXHIBITION

PUNE SPICE

OBITUARY

Shri Murali Venkatraman (Godrej)

With deep sorrow weannounce his demiseon 2nd Dec. 2015 Will

always miss you.-----------------------------

In grief Appa

(Venkatraman) Athai,

Shanti Murali (Wife) Aishu (Daughter)

Chandra & Jayashree(Sisters). Relatives &

Friends

MARKA/PAGDI

Late. JhamandasLokumal Punjabi

-----------------------------Pagdi Rasam will beheld from 5.00pm to5.30 pm on Saturday5/12/2015 at JhulelalMandir Azadnagar

Opp Ruby Hall Wano-warie Pune 411040 ( Ladies & Gents)

-----------------------------In Girief

Kanhiyalal Punjabi,Prakash (Bunty)

Punjabi, Girish Punjabi, Hitesh Punjabi, Bharat Punjabi,Umang Punjabi.

Mob : 9921285454Punjabi

Family & Biradari

3rd Death Anniversary

In Loving Memory Of

Moses M. D'souzaDied 5th Dec 2012

MASS Offered At

St. Ignatius ChurchKhadki

at 7 am on 5th Dec 2015

May His Soul RestIn Peace

From Family Members,Relatives And Friends

DEATH ANNOUNCEMENTS

DEATH ANNIVERSARYBIRTHDAYREMEMBRANCES

MARKARASAM PAGDI

JAM SESSION

UK-based band Peasant’s King turned StrayDogTM Jamroom into an absolute party house at the NH7 Weekender, Pune on Friday evening. More details are available on www.StrayDog.in

Aurangabad:Senior facultiesfrom polytechnic institutesacross the state will no longerbe able to skip assessment ofstudents’ answer-sheets.

In the backdrop of seriouslapses being observed in as-sessment work carried out by asection of junior teachers com-pounded with the fact that se-nior faculties remaining alooffrom such vital academic exer-cise, the state Directorate ofTechnical Education (DTE)has set a target of evaluating200 answer-sheets per semes-ter for senior teachers.

The DTE has also warnedthat senior teachers not shoul-dering the responsibility wo-uld face stern action.

In a circular addressed toregional offices, DTE officia-

ting director Subhash Maha-jan has stated that the adverseremarks regarding skipping ofassessment work would be no-ted in the confidential reports(CRs) of teachers and it couldcause negative impact on theircareer advance scheme (CAS).

Referring to a correspon-dence from the MaharashtraState Board of Technical Edu-

cation (MSBTE), Mahajan hassaid that serious shortco-mings were observed in the as-sessment work of polytechnicexaminations with junior-le-vel teachers found to be re-sponsible for such lapses.

The DTE head has also rati-fied the MSBTE resolve to in-crease participation of seniorteachers in evaluation of ans-wer-sheets.

“Beginning from the win-ter examinations of 2015, it willbe mandatory for every seniorfaculty from government andgovernment-aided polytech-nics to assess minimum 200answer-sheets. Principals ofpolytechnic colleges are expec-ted to issue separate orders tothis effect,” Mahajan has said.

Pramod Wayse, deputy se-cretary of MSBTE (Auranga-bad division), said the DTE or-

der would ensure that princi-pals and teachers from poly-technics would have to assigntop priority for paper assess-ment. “The order will serve asguidelines for expediting pa-per assessment with desiredquality. We expect the princi-pals and teachers wholehear-tedly extend cooperation in ac-complishing the task,” he said.

A senior faculty from a po-lytechnic institution, however,expressed displeasure over theDTE order. “Senior teachershave been exceedingly gettingloaded with non-academicwork, which assumes equalsignificance for the benefit ofstudents and institutions.Even the polytechnic headsare aware of this. It is objectio-nable on the part of the DTE tocome out with such blunt or-ders,” he said.

The MSBTE issues a modelanswer for each paper, whichserve as a roadmap for carry-ing out evaluation. The exami-ner simply needs to check thepapers in the light of the modelanswer. The task can be easilyperformed by junior tea-chers,” the faculty added.

Hailing the DTE move, stu-dent activist Tukaram Sarafsaid the directorate should ela-borate more on exact nature ofshortcomings observed lately.“While the DTE is acceptingon record that shortcomingswere observed in assessmentwork, it should also tell stake-holders what punitive actionwas taken in each and every ca-se,” he said.

Maharashtra has around590 polytechnics with an inta-ke capacity of over two lakhstudents.

Bunking Assessment Work Would Invite Stern Action, Says DTE CircularSenior teachers told to check papers

Prasad.Joshi@timesgroup.comBeginning from the winter

examinations of 2015, it willbe mandatory for everysenior faculty from govern-ment and government-aided polytechnics toassess minimum 200 answer-sheetsSubhash Mahajan| DTE

OFFICIATING DIRECTOR

Pune: His work as a ticketchecker with the Railways didnot deter Bijay Biswaal frompursuing painting. His piece‘Odhisa Rasoi’ made with acry-lic colours went viral on socialmedia in 2012 and establishedhim as an artist.

As a child, Biswaal usedcharcoal to draw on the floorsof his home. He would collectsmall, broken chalk piecesfrom the classroom to sketchon the blackboard. Soon, Bis-waal graduated to using paperand pencil to satiate his desirefor painting.

His fascination with Bolly-wood stars Amitabh Bachchanand Mithun Chakraborty ledhim to paint several portraits.“When I used to travel to Bhu-baneswar and Cuttack, I wouldlook at the posters of film starswith amazement. In those da-ys, these posters were not prin-ted, but painted by young ama-teur artists,” he recalled.

These portraits gave himextra-money to buy water colo-urs, canvas and other stuff tokeep his passion for paintingalive amidst increasing pres-sure from his parents to get adecent job.

Biswaal is amongst the fewartists exhibiting their pain-tings based on their ‘physical’travel at the event-‘Journeys:The festival of arts’ organizedby Gyan Adab till December 6.He will be showcasing aboutseven to eight paintings cele-brating railway stations.

“I felt that it is time to cele-brate the journey by honou-ring the journeys of creativepeople from various artforms,” organizer RandhirKhare said.

Biswaal admits that havinga day-job brings him financialstability. “I was pragmatic totake up the railway job,” he sa-id. In fact, travel through tra-ins, hopping from cities to co-untryside, has only inspiredhis body of work that depictthe rain-washed platforms, ra-ilway-junctions, steam engi-nes and people going about the-ir daily life.

Biswaal added that his big-gest challenge to establishhimself as an artist was to bre-ak away from the common ste-reotype that surrounded a rail-way official. “People have acertain notion about railwayemployees and that they can’tbe artists,” he added.

Like Biswaal, Atul Gendlealso draws inspiration fromtravel. His paintings depictingtriangular-shaped dwellingsand serene greenery of Kon-kan, rugged section of westerncoastline, are also part of theevent.

He found spot-paintingchallenging and enticing.

What Gendle cherishes themost, is going out along withhis equipment to paint the oldruined buildings of the city.

The love for travelling wit-hout an itinerary pushed thisPuneite to adopt cycling as afull-time career. Divya Tate hasbeen cycling for two decades,touring in the country andabroad.

“When I failed to find a com-panion, I took a solo cycle-tripfrom Pune to Goa just to get anadrenaline rush. I cycled ex-tensively, talked to villagers,stayed at people’s houseswhich one can’t do when one istravelling by a bus or car. Inthose days, we did not havetechnology like Google maps,cellphone navigation to planthe travel. Of course, nowada-ys cycling has become morestructured in the country,” shesaid.

Tate, who is also the firstwoman participant in PBP cy-cle race 2011, will share herbackpacking experiences du-ring the event.

Travel broadens mind &finds artistic expression

Dipti Sharma

Biswaal’s painting of a railway station

Pune: If you are here and seeone of these guys hanging off thetrusses on stage or playing sevendifferent instruments at onetime, you are most likely wit-nessing the Pierce Brothers attheir skillful best.

Gear up for Saturday’s datewith the Aussie folk-pop band atthe NH7 Weekender in Pune.And if you are lucky, you mayeven witness them roiling in abit of Indian music for their fansin the country.

Melbourne-based twins Jackand Pat Pierce, popularly knownas Pierce Brothers, have come along way—from busking on thestreets of Melbourne to per-forming in top-notch festivalsacross countries, including In-dia’s very own, the NH7 Weeken-der.

The multi-instrumentalistshave sold over 50,000 EPs inde-pendently, rendering sell-outshows one after another. But un-til now, they had never been to In-dia. “We never got a chance tocome to India. And when we did,we jumped at the opportunity.The NH7 Weekender organisersgot to witness our performancein England and invited us here.It has been fantastic the wholetime we have been in India. Afterperforming before a lovely audi-ence in Delhi, we have much tohope for in Pune,” said Jack.

So far, the two have loved theIndian audience and swear by itsenergy. “We usually start ourshow with the didgeridoo, whichgets the audience into thegroove. The best thing about theaudience in India is its energy,”said Pat.

“The audience here beginsdancing right at the start of theshow. People immerse them-selves completely into the act

and their energy is incompara-ble. More energetic the crowd,the better the show. That is whatwe have experienced in India.The crowd in India is more likethat in Sydney and Melbourne,for the energy they infuse intothe show. That is in fact our fa-vourite kind of crowd,” said Pat.

Pierce Brothers expects ahuge crowd in Pune and have

much up their sleeves to showoff. “We have heard that ourshow in Pune will be one of thebusiest shows. The organisershave told us that the city has toits credit eclectic music aficiona-dos. We are expecting a crowdbigger in Pune than what we sawin Delhi,” said Jack.

While in India, the twins arealso planning to buy a sitar. “Iwouldn’t know how to play it be-cause it is much different fromthe guitar. We are currentlywatching a documentary tolearn the art. If we do manage tolearn it, people could even ex-pect the traditional tunes of thesitar in our music to come,” Pat

said.The deuce can not only play

the guitar and sing, but deftlymanage other instrumentswhile on stage: harmonica, did-geridoo, kickdrum, djembe andgeneral percussion. It is a two-man army, so to speak, for theydexterously play these instru-ments without a third memberin the band. It is the freedomthey love about being just two.“When you are with the drum-mer or anybody else, you have tofollow them. We are so muchused to being in charge of thetempo and energy that with athird, we lose the intrinsicspark,” said Jack.

Catch their videos on YouTube and you would be instantlybowled over with their gim-micks on stage: They even playone guitar at the same time, a hitamong music lovers across the16 countries they have played inthis year. “We have not re-hearsed in a year now. We just goand do our thing. The best re-hearsal is when you try it outlive. The way the crowd receivesit is the greatest judge of yourperformance,” said Pat.

Band of Aussie twinsgrooves to India’s energy

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Melbourne-based twins Jack and Pat Pierce on Friday

Mandar Deshpande

PUNE NOTES

CCI NG 3.5 Product: TOIPuneBS PubDate: 05-12-2015 Zone: PuneCity Edition: 1 Page: TOIPUC6 User: sohini.chakravorty Time: 12-05-2015 00:18 Color: CMYK